221
FXUS65 KBYZ 040933
AFDBYZ
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
233 AM MST WED FEB 4 2026
KEY MESSAGES
- MOSTLY DRY AND VERY WARM WITH PERIODS OF GUSTY WINDS ALONG THE
WESTERN FOOTHILLS THROUGH THE WEEKEND.
- BREEZY FROM BILLINGS WEST TODAY. 30-50% CHANCE OF GUSTS GREATER
THAN 50 MPH OVER THE WESTERN FOOTHILLS.
- INCREASED GRASS FIRE CONCERNS ACROSS THE AREA THIS WEEK.
- POTENTIAL PATTERN CHANGE TO COOLER WEATHER FOR EARLY NEXT WEEK.
LOTS OF UNCERTAINTY REMAINS.
DISCUSSION
TODAY THROUGH TUESDAY...
IN THE WAKE OF THE WAVE THAT DROPPED THROUGH THE REGION YESTERDAY,
MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES HAVE ALLOWED TEMPERATURES TO DROP INTO THE 20S
AND TEENS FOR SOME LOCATIONS OVERNIGHT. PATCHY FOG IS POSSIBLE
OVER FAR NORTHEASTERN AREAS INTO THE MORNING HOURS.
WELL ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND DRY CONDITIONS CAN BE EXPECTED
TODAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND AS STRONG UPPER LEVEL RIDGING BUILDS
OVER THE REGION. HIGH TEMPERATURES MOST DAYS ARE FORECAST FROM THE
50S TO THE 60S F, COOLEST NEAR THE DAKOTAS BORDER. ENSEMBLES
CONTINUE TO ADVERTISE THURSDAY AS THE WARMEST DAY OF THE NEXT
SEVERAL, WITH HIGHS IN THE MIDDLE TO UPPER 60S F, WITH SOME
LOCATIONS APPROACHING 70 DEGREES F. ALL CLIMATE SITES ARE AT RISK
OF BREAKING RECORD HIGHS.
A WEAK WAVE PASSING THROUGH THE AREA IN THE MID-LEVELS WILL
BRING FAVORABLE PRESSURE GRADIENTS AND INCREASING WINDS ALOFT
(700 MB WINDS OF 30-40 KTS). THIS WILL BRING BREEZY CONDITIONS TO
THE WESTERN FOOTHILLS TODAY, WITH SOUTHWEST TO WEST WIND GUSTS OF
30 TO 50 MPH (30-50% CHANCE OF 50 MPH WINDS). SOUTHWEST WINDS OF
15 TO 30 MPH WILL EXTEND THROUGH CENTRAL ZONES AS WELL. SURFACE WINDS
DECREASE INTO THE EVENING AS HEIGHTS BUILD IN FROM THE WEST.
DUE TO THE PERSISTENT DRY, OCCASIONALLY BREEZY, AND VERY WARM
CONDITIONS, THERE IS AN ELEVATED RISK FOR GRASS FIRES THIS WEEK,
ESPECIALLY FROM BILLINGS WEST TODAY. BE CAREFUL TO NOT CAUSE A
SPARK!
HEADING INTO MONDAY AND TUESDAY, THERE ARE SIGNS OF A PATTERN
CHANGE TOWARDS COOLER AND WETTER WEATHER, WITH LOW TO MODERATE
CHANCES OF PRECIPITATION (30-60%; HIGHEST OVER THE MOUNTAINS).
THERE REMAINS A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY WITH REGARDS TO HOW COOL THE
TEMPERATURES MAY BE, AS WELL AS PRECIPITATION POTENTIAL.
CURRENTLY, TEMPERATURES ARE FORECAST TO DROP INTO THE 30S AND 40S
FOR TUESDAY. STP
AVIATION
PATCHY FOG IS POSSIBLE THROUGH AROUND 15Z THIS MORNING ACROSS
SOUTHEAST MT (KMLS, KBHK). BREEZY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OVER
THE WESTERN FOOTHILLS AROUND 12-18Z TODAY WITH GUSTS 25-40KTS. TS
PRELIMINARY POINT TEMP/POPS
TDY THU FRI SAT SUN MON TUE
-------------------------------------------------------
BIL 061 040/067 032/061 038/064 038/062 039/055 030/048
0/N 00/U 00/U 00/B 00/B 13/R 33/S
LVM 058 037/064 033/061 037/058 036/056 036/048 027/043
0/N 00/U 00/U 00/B 00/B 24/O 44/S
HDN 061 036/068 027/060 034/064 033/064 034/055 030/049
0/B 00/U 00/U 00/B 00/B 13/R 33/O
MLS 054 035/062 028/055 033/058 033/059 034/052 029/044
0/B 00/U 00/B 00/B 00/B 02/R 22/O
4BQ 056 039/065 030/061 035/060 033/062 032/055 030/046
0/B 00/U 00/U 00/B 00/U 01/B 22/O
BHK 051 032/058 025/051 030/054 030/056 030/050 025/041
0/B 00/U 00/U 00/B 00/B 01/B 22/O
SHR 059 034/068 031/062 033/060 031/061 031/054 024/044
0/B 00/U 00/U 00/B 00/U 12/R 44/O
BYZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
MT...NONE.
WY...NONE.
WEATHER.GOV/BILLINGS
CLICK HERE TO GO TO PREVIOUS BULLETINS.
Main Text Page